1895 Dutch Mannlicher 30-40 Krag
- Thread starter hporter
- Start date
hporter
Active Member
Well that would be the cheapest "fix".
The cases came out very easy as if there was no issue at all in the chamber. I poked around last night and didn't see any 30-40 AI dies floating around for sale. That pretty much rules that out, unless I just fire form the brass and then neck size after that.
I will try another round of shooting with the brass, and see if lose any. I ran across my 303 British broken shell extractor last week. It might be useful to throw that in the range box.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I can't picture cases with a .012 sharp angled step like that lasting. Maybe, but it seems unlikely. Time will tell.
Missionary
Well-Known Member
If you do ream to 30-40 AI, ream your reloading dies with that reamer. Your then ready to launch.
Ian
Notorious member
I don't know about reaming a finished sizing die with a chambering reamer. For one thing, they're hardened. For another, die reamers are undersized compared to chambering reamers so the fired brass can actually be sized smaller than chamber dimensions.
If it were my rifle and I only wanted to shoot mild cast loads, I'd keep using .303 brass, neck size, and leave it alone unless cases started breaking in half.
If it were my rifle and I only wanted to shoot mild cast loads, I'd keep using .303 brass, neck size, and leave it alone unless cases started breaking in half.
I have news for you regarding the ring in your chamber. I have a 95 Winchester that was rebarreled using a surplus 2 groove barrel for an 03A3. The gunsmith was a family friend who fixed up the ‘95 for my dad years ago and didn’t realize that the 30-40 reamer didn’t completely clean out the partially cut off 30-06 chamber. The ring in mine is at 1.2 in. also. I expect that your donor Mod 70 Win was a 30-06 too. I also reform 303 Brit cases which come out a bit short but it doesn’t seem to be a problem. I only load cast bullets using about the same load as yours with a variety of bullets. I neck size using a 32 S&W / Long die then expand and slightly flare the neck for a .311 cast bullet. I can’t crimp these short cases so the case mouth flare has to be minimal to still chamber. I’ve never had any trouble with this arrangement and have yet to have a case separation. I know that I can’t full length size these so as soon as they won’t chamber they’ll be recycled. I do have to mark and segregate these so I don’t get them mixed up with cases for my Krag. Happy shooting and enjoy taking that fine old rifle afield!
hporter
Active Member
Jim,
Thank you for sharing that.
I have plenty of 30-40 Krag brass, but it just won't feed through the enbloc clips. I always neck size my 303 and 30-40 brass anyway, and I do keep it segregated by which rifle it was fired in. So keeping track of the brass won't be an issue.
But I know people advocate permanently marking the brass. I had pondered about the best way to go about that. I had thought about putting the brass in my LE Wilson trim die, mounting it in the lined jaws of a bench vise and popping it with an asterisk stamp or something like that on the case head.
How do most people mark their brass? I figured the careful handling and the obvious ring in the brass would be enough, but I am curious how one might go about doing it?
Thank you for sharing that.
I have plenty of 30-40 Krag brass, but it just won't feed through the enbloc clips. I always neck size my 303 and 30-40 brass anyway, and I do keep it segregated by which rifle it was fired in. So keeping track of the brass won't be an issue.
But I know people advocate permanently marking the brass. I had pondered about the best way to go about that. I had thought about putting the brass in my LE Wilson trim die, mounting it in the lined jaws of a bench vise and popping it with an asterisk stamp or something like that on the case head.
How do most people mark their brass? I figured the careful handling and the obvious ring in the brass would be enough, but I am curious how one might go about doing it?
I mark cases by coloring the bases with a permanent felt tip pen or marker using a color that is easy to see. It will fade after a few loadings, but I just renew it as necessary. Another use for the colored felt tip pen is to just temporarily mark a loaded round by coloring on the primer.
I didn’t know what you used for case cleaning but I suspect that the pins will take it off. I only use the pins for really tarnished and dirty cases or before annealing. I usually just wipe them down with solvent or dry tumble with crushed walnut shells if not too dirty.
Another option is to cut a small groove in the rim with a file, not enough to damage the case but in to the back edge enough to see and feel with a finger. I only have 3 pairs of rifles anymore that don’t share cases and one or the other of these methods has worked for me.
Another option is to cut a small groove in the rim with a file, not enough to damage the case but in to the back edge enough to see and feel with a finger. I only have 3 pairs of rifles anymore that don’t share cases and one or the other of these methods has worked for me.
hporter
Active Member
Well I got a Teslong bore scope for my birthday this year. This is what the ring in the chamber looks like from a different angle.
The bore scope is pretty nifty. I asked for the wi-fi one so that I could use my phone to record the photos and videos. And my wife bought me the mirror set too. The barrel on this Mannlicher is horribly pitted. This will be fun to play with.
{edited to add correct photo}
The bore scope is pretty nifty. I asked for the wi-fi one so that I could use my phone to record the photos and videos. And my wife bought me the mirror set too. The barrel on this Mannlicher is horribly pitted. This will be fun to play with.
{edited to add correct photo}
Last edited: